Technical Program Manager- Droid (Structures & Mechanisms)
$140,000–$180,000 year
On-siteSouth San Francisco, California, United States
Job Summary
Drive the EV3 droid program from architecture through prototypes, qualification, and full-rate production, owning the master schedule and negotiating credible timelines with engineering leads. Work across mechanical, electrical, firmware, thermal, industrial design, test, and manufacturing domains to guide system-level decisions, resolve technical risks, and ensure designs translate successfully into real hardware. Coordinate prototype builds, first-article inspections, tooling releases, and production ramps while partnering with suppliers across China, Malaysia, Japan, Italy, Germany, Vietnam, and the US. Identify and resolve bottlenecks that slow progress, facilitate design reviews and trade studies, and develop lightweight tools and documentation to improve team effectiveness. Create dashboards to identify failure modes and work with test engineers on ground test equipment development.
Required Qualifications
- 2+ years of experience in technical program management or in a hardware engineering, systems engineering, manufacturing, or technical operations role involving complex hardware systems
- Experience working on complex electromechanical hardware systems in fields such as drones, robotics, aerospace, automotive, medical device, or consumer electronics
- Strong systems thinking and the ability to dive into unfamiliar technical domains to understand tradeoffs, guide decisions, and unblock teams
- A highly execution-oriented mindset - you take ownership of outcomes, follow through relentlessly, and ensure important details don't fall through the cracks
- Demonstrated ability to coordinate cross-functional engineering teams and drive complex technical programs forward in fast-paced and ambiguous environments
- Experience improving team effectiveness through documentation, decision tracking, or process improvements that reduce friction for engineering teams
- Strong facilitation and communication skills, with the ability to guide technical discussions and align teams with different perspectives
- A collaborative and relationship-driven approach to problem solving, with the ability to build trust across engineering, operations, suppliers, and external partners
- Enthusiasm for working closely with engineers, technicians, and manufacturing teams, and being actively involved in bringing complex hardware systems to life
- Must be eligible to work in the US
- Must be able to work in person at Zipline's South San Francisco office
Desired Qualifications
- Prior experience carrying a complex hardware program through NPI and into full-rate production at a contract manufacturer
- Familiarity with production technologies used on the droid: injection molding, thermoplastic and thermoset composites, EPP foam molding, stamping, CNC machining, and custom PCB and flex production
- Experience managing schedules across multiple international suppliers and time zones
- Prior technical background (BS or MS in a relevant engineering discipline) sufficient to read a drawing, understand a schematic, and hold your own in a technical review
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